Lawsuit Reform Backers Pack South Carolina State House

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Supporters of a comprehensive lawsuit reform bill (S. 244) packed the South Carolina State House lobby on Wednesday morning (March 5, 2025) in anticipation of a press conference promoting the legislation.

Governor Henry McMaster – who has repeatedly voiced his concern over the onerous costs passed on to businesses and consumers by South Carolina’s plaintiff-friendly laws – hosted the event and called for legislators to put a bill on his desk.

“Prosperity requires in our state’s civil justice system allows fair and prompt enforcement of our laws and proper redress of injury,” McMaster said. “This should not stifle creation of jobs and economic growth, but rather should enhance it.”

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McMaster added “the application of our current legal framework and the rules are increasingly making South Carolina less competitive.”

McMaster said a new legal framework must ensure “that those injured receive full compensation for those injuries, but not at the expense of those not responsible for those injuries.”

S.C. Senate president Thomas Alexander indirectly referenced the rancorous debate over the proposed changes.

“We are not here to tear others down,” Alexander said. “(Reformers) are here to fix a problem, one that hurts our citizens, that drives up costs and weakens the very foundation of our economic opportunity in our state.”

In Alexander’s words, businesspeople are “being asked to succeed not because of our system, but despite it,” something he said is “not right, nor… sustainable.”

Alexander was followed by senator Shane Massey. Massey has been credited with shepherding S.244 through committee and onto the senate floor for debate.

“South Carolina has the highest liability insurance rates in our region – from auto insurance to liability insurance for contractors to doctors and nurses, trucking liability policies, commercial policies, home builders, restaurants and bars across the board – our liability insurance rates are higher than our neighbors,” Massey said.

“There are some here who would tell you that the reason those rates are higher is because of insurance greed,” Massey said, referring to a group of counter-protesting attorneys who also assembled in the lobby.

Massey pointed to the ability of insurance companies operating in neighboring states to make a profit without charging exorbitant premiums or refusing to write policies.

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“As if insurance companies don’t make money in North Carolina and Georgia and Florida and Tennessee and Alabama… surely they do,” he said. “Which means there is another reason that rates are higher in South Carolina. That reason, ladies and gentlemen, is because of our lawsuit industry.”

Massey has been criticized by trial lawyers – who say he is a tool of the insurance industry – but he argued on Wednesday that businesses large and small are the ones being hurt by the Palmetto State’s anti-competitive tort climate.

“Our civil justice system is broken, and it is not broken for the insurance companies, it is broken for the people in the State House lobby today,” Massey said, referring to representatives of various industries assembled behind the rostrum and throughout the lobby. “These are the people who make South Carolina competitive and attractive for other people.”

According to Massey, “there is a reason that North Carolina and Georgia and Florida and Alabama have been aggressive in reforming their tort reform laws,” adding that if South Carolina fails to implement its own reform package, “we will fall behind.”

“More importantly, the people of South Carolina, the people in this room, the people who who pay employees, the people who run businesses – these people are going to suffer, and they’re going to pay more for insurance than they should be paying,” he said.

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After the press conference, FITSNews interviewed state representative Jay Kilmartin, an outspoken Midlands-area lawmaker who operates multiple food service businesses impacted by recent insurance rate increases.

“It’s insane what we’re paying,” Kilmartin said. “I just paid my insurance last week – that’s why I’m walking around with my head down. It kills small businesses.”

When about the how he expected the bill to look after being amended on the Senate floor, Kilmartin expressed hope that language overly favorable to the insurance industry would be stricken to engender the support of a broader coalition of legislators.

“I think they almost poison pilled their own bill,” Kilmartin said, adding the bill’s authors “put in some carveouts for insurance companies, and that’s how S. 244 is being attacked.”

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“It’s insane what we’re paying,”

State Rep. and champion of the food and bev. industry Jay Kilmartin (@JayforHouse85) spoke to @FITSNews about the need for compromise in the pursuit of tort reform.

"They almost poison-pilled their own bill. They put in some carve-outs for… pic.twitter.com/5swllquzBx

— Dylan Nolan (@dnolan2000) March 5, 2025

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“If we could get those taken out,” Kilmartin believes the bill would “be perfect again and get the insurance companies to commit to come back to the state.”

Kilmartin said he’s spoken to numerous other business owners who are counting on the passage of legislation to keep their businesses viable.

“This is affecting so many people, It’s not just the dive bars, the music venues, my restaurant, my cigar shop, we’re all affected,” he said.

“I spoke at a VFW a couple months ago,” Kilmartin added, saying the venue served “cold beers to the old guys at 6:00 p.m.”

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“They’re not a bar, but their policy went up to $60,000 a year,” he said.

According to Kilmartin, skyrocketing rate increases brought about by the Palmetto State’s litigious climate are “really not good for South Carolina or our small businesses.”

FITSNews has led coverage of efforts to reform South Carolina’s plaintiff-friendly civil legal framework. Count on us for continued coverage as S. 244 continues to be debated in the S.C. General Assembly.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR …

(Via: Travis Bell)

Dylan Nolan is the director of special projects at FITSNews. He graduated from the Darla Moore school of business in 2021 with an accounting degree. Got a tip or story idea for Dylan? Email him here. You can also engage him socially @DNolan2000.

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